A small point or detail in rules or procedures, often used to get out of something on a technicality (a strict rule rather than the spirit of the rule).
From 'technical,' which comes from Greek 'technikos' (from 'techne' meaning 'art' or 'craft'). The suffix '-ality' creates a noun form expressing a quality or state.
When someone wins 'on a technicality,' they've exploited the exact letter of the law rather than what everyone understood the law to mean—it's the difference between following instructions perfectly and following their actual intent.
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